Silver and Gold
by walkingwithgiants
Summary: *Hiatus* "Bodies never lie." -Agnes de Mille. Pointe shoes, leotards, and men with chiseled thighs: a normal day in the life of a ballerina. Drabble-ish.
1. Chapter 1

__Hi guys. Umm... I don't know exactly what I'm doing with this. The idea stuck and the words just kind of diarrhea-d (classy words, I know) their way out. Drabble-ish. Hopefully I can post a few times a week since the chapters are short. I don't think there will be too much plot but who knows. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own *dun dun dun* BALLETWARD!

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><p><em>You want this.<em>

_You want this._

_You want this._

I'd been hoping that by repeating to myself why I was here, it would make this easier for me. It would make up for the fact that my ankle was throbbing and my toes were in so much pain, I couldn't feel them anymore. I could only rely on muscle memory to get me through from this point on.

"Remember your technique, Bella," Ms. Kate, my old dance teacher reminded me before I flew out to New York City.

_Arabesque…_

_Split leap…._

_Triple pirouette…_

Fuck!

The sharp pain from my big toe made me flinch for a split second. I eyed the judges warily before continuing on with the rest of the choreography. Their eyes were taking in every single detail of each dancer onstage. Everything from the arch of my foot, the line of my extended leg, the size of hips and thighs, the muscle definition in my arms, and the length of my neck were taken into consideration.

Jessie and I called these ballet company people mini Hitlers. They had a formula for the kind of dancers that they wanted and if you didn't fall into that cutout, then fuck you. You were done.

My muscles pumped furiously through the routine, blood flowing through my limbs and the pain, doing what they had done a million times before: turning my feet out when I needed to and recognizing my posture to make sure it was proper. I felt through my shoulders, making sure to keep them relaxed.

My group finished the choreography a minute later, but I took my time getting off the floor. I watched the judges talk amongst themselves in whispers while also eyeing the forward discreetly. Looking at me.

I wasn't ashamed of any aspect of my body, but I knew what they were discussing.

"You're not slender enough to be a ballerina," I remember my first dance teacher hissing at me. Her bony fingers tapped my shoulders and hips like they were alien flesh. She pointed at my chest in disgust. "You already have breasts! And those thighs! They're larger than mine, child!"

I could see her weathered face clearly in my memory, I could remember frowning at the old bat that drove me insane while trying not to cry. Who in their freaking mind says that to an eleven year old? "I'm sorry that you don't have any breasts, Madame Pitre. My Aunt Sophia didn't have any either but she says they have doctors to fix that now."

My dad had wiped at my face that night. I'd saved my tears for the car ride and my dad had pulled over as soon as the hiccups began. He pulled me tightly to his side by throwing an arm over my shoulder. "You can be anything you want, Bella_. Anything_."

That was the last day I ever saw that dance teacher.

Grabbing my small duffel bag from the corner of the room, I walked quickly outside of the studio to face the hundred remaining dancers waiting to audition. Most of them were girls with the occasional man here and there. Sighing, I walked as fast as I could to the end of the long hallway and plopped down, waiting what I knew would be hours before the results would be posted.

Hours were nothing in the grand scheme of life, my Aunt Sophia always said.

So, four hours later when the wiry woman I recognized from registration slipped out of the main studio with a piece of paper in her hand and taped it to the wall, my heart fluttered. A huge influx of dancers rushed to results and I waited.

Staring at the too-short list, I'm sure that I squealed while whipping out my cell phone, hitting the speed dial button faster than ever.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

Oh. My. GOD!

People say that life flashes before your eyes when you die, but my life and future flashed before my eyes right then.

_**Isabella Swan**_

"Dad! Dad! I'm in the company!"


	2. Chapter 2

Well looky here. Another update because I'm too sick to sleep but not to write, hah. I have a feeling this is going to be something really easy and fun to write. Yay! Thank you all for reading and for your wonderful and encouraging reviews! No beta ever, so forgive my mistakes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but Balletward is all mine (he'll be showing up... at some point soon).

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><p>Riley tossed me over his shoulder, jumping up and down like I weighed less than a sack of potatoes.<p>

"My ugly duckling is a prima ballerina!" he bellowed, slapping my thighs roughly with a heavy palm. "Holy shit!"

I couldn't even hold myself away from him because I was laughing so hard. He was an idiot. Truly, an idiot. We'd had this conversation a million times before. I'd explained to him the difference between being a ballet dancer — because I thought _ballerina_ was way too pretentious — and a prima ballerina. And yet, anytime I'd been cast in any program, even if I was simply onstage for five minutes, I was his prima ballerina.

"ALEC! ALEC!" Riley howled at the lumberjack upstairs. "Get your ass down here!"

The Neanderthal holding me slapped each of my thighs in quick succession while continuing to bounce up and down. "I can't believe it, Duckie! A real ballet company? You're going to be dancing in a _theater_? In front of thousands of people?"

"I've already danced in front of thousands of people!" I howled, trying to remind him of the hundred other times he'd seen me in front of a huge audience. My face felt hot from the position I was still in.

Thunder rolled from the staircase and then hallway, rattling our house like a stampede of elephants would. "What the hell do you want?" Alec's deep voice yelled from the hall before walking into the living room. After twenty-one years, I could recognize the big lug even though I was upside down with blood rushing too quickly to my head. "Duck-a-roo!"

"Al," I groaned when he walked up to me, pinching my thighs the moment he was within reach.

"I'm so proud of you!" Alec cheered, pinching my calves hard enough to bruise. "I told you not to worry about those thunder thighs!"

That's when I kicked out my heel to whack him in the jaw. Luckily for him, I was wearing flats and didn't really put much effort into kicking him. Dickhead.

"Damn it, I was just joking!" the normally more boisterous of my twin brothers cried, cupping his chin.

"You're an idiot," Riley laughed before finally squatting down low enough to push me off his shoulder. The huge, linebacker-sized monstrosity that I called my older brother mirrored the identical moron next to him.

Most people didn't understand that the build of my body was genetic until they met my brothers. Our dad always said that the Swan family bred the best of the best. An idea that my brothers, at least, seemed to live by every day of their lives. Riley was a professional hockey player and Alec was a semi-pro baseball player. While the broadness of their shoulders and thighs were appreciated, mine were not.

I was slim, but compared to the microscopic-sized girls that dominated classical ballet, I was considered a beluga whale. Sluts. I danced ten hours out of the day and ate really well, but _still_.

"Duckmeister, are you gonna hook me up with one of your new ballerina friends?"

Riley snickered. "Fucker, you'd break those girls in half and either way, Duckie wouldn't want crabs spreading through her dance company."

"Or herpes," I chipped in, winking at my hazel-eyed brother. That was the only difference between the two twins— Riley had light brown eyes versus the chocolate brown that I shared with Alec.

Alec crossed an arm over his large chest while still cupping his chin, smirking. "And yet neither one of you deny that I'd break one of the girls in half. Win!"

By some miracle, Riley held back laughing and marched out of the living room while Alec doubled over laughing. The reality of my situation hit me with the force of a wrecking ball.

What was I going to do once I moved a thousand miles away from these goofballs and dad?

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><p>You can "tweeter" me here for updates and nonsense: http :  www (dot) twitter (dot) com / marianazapata_

Nonsense in more than one hundred and forty characters can be found on my blog: http : / marianazapatawrites (dot) blogspot (dot) com


	3. Chapter 3

Taa-daa! No beta so forgive my mistakes. Thank you all for your kind words :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own a pair of old pointe shoes... somewhere...

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><p>When I landed in New York, more than a month after my last audition, everything just kind of went into a dream-like sequence. I'd never been further than a few hours away from my family. Ever. Even if it was just me and dad at home, I always had someone nearby.<p>

After they finished high school, both Alec and Riley stayed in Seattle for school before eventually going on with their careers close by. When it was off-season or if they had a short break, each of the Doublemint twins would come home. Needless to say, I was blessed. My brothers were always my biggest cheerleaders— literally. I couldn't count on two hands and two feet the number of times they'd flown from across the country to see me perform .

And my dad…

Frowning out of the window of the taxi that was taking me to my new apartment, I pushed my dad's excited but bittersweet face out of my head. I knew he wanted this for me just as badly as I did. Plus, I could always fly home for a quick weekend trip.

"That'll be thirty bucks, Miss," the cab driver's gruff voice barked out as soon as we'd stopped in front of the ancient looking building.

I shot him a dirty look when he didn't immediately get out of the car to help me with my two suitcases. It took me two long trips up and down three flights of stairs to get my luggage into the pretty shitty apartment I was going to be sharing with a girl Riley went to high school with.

Carmen Martinez was a full-time film student at NYU and part-time psychopath, according to my brother. Before letting me talk to her on the phone for the first time, he made me listen to a story about how his Mexican and Costa-Rican friend tricked her boyfriend into thinking she was pregnant by showing him her sister's positive pregnancy test, after she found out he was cheating on her.

So, I didn't think twice about jumping at the chance to live with her. She sounded like my type of woman and we seemed to get along pretty well over the phone, even if she did sound a little… distracted.

The apartment was empty when I dragged my things in. Everything was neat, if not a little cramped in the small living room, but I was already desensitized to the idea that I wouldn't be living in a house anymore. Pulling my suitcases in the direction of a short hallway just right off the living room, I spotted a piece of paper taped to one of the doors closest to me with "DUCK" written in Sharpie with loopy cursive writing.

I groaned at the fact that my brother had spread my nickname across the freaking country in no time.

The room was pretty bare except for an old looking double bed pressed into a corner, a light colored nightstand next to it, and a dresser on the opposite wall. The room was… the size of my dad's closet back home. Which wasn't saying much since our house wasn't exactly spacious to begin with.

I didn't hear the lock turning or the door opening before I heard a voice a car horn screaming from the living room. "Bella! You here?"

"Yeah!" I yelled back before walking out of my new room and heading in the direction she was in.

Carmen smiled at me as soon as she saw me. She was about my height with hair slightly darker than mine, and olive-toned skin. She stood there with a messenger bag thrown over her hip, a bright purple beanie on her head, and lime green framed glasses perched on her nose.

"I'm glad you made it," she said, taking a step toward me. In an instant, her arms were wrapped around me and she was squeezing me to her curvy frame. "I'd apologize but I come from a family of huggers and people here think that's weird."

I pulled away from her and couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, I come from a hugging family, too."

She winked at me, straightening her glasses with the push of an index finger. "Oh, I know."

Andddd suddenly, I wondered how well Carmen and Riley really knew each other.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm chugging my way to the good stuff, guys. Trust me. No beta ever, forgive me. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I do own this story. You steal and I will unleash the fury of two great danes upon you.

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><p>I took two days off total.<p>

By the morning of my third day in the Big Apple, my calves and feet had turned into sadistic bastards crying out like sirens for the torture that was my training. They were ready to practice and who was I to tell them no? Even though the company classes didn't begin for another week, the receptionist I'd spoken to at VBT— Volturi Ballet Theater— had told me that any company dancer, "Even a corps de ballet member," she said in a snooty voice, could come in and use any available studio whenever we wanted.

Carmen looked at me with wide eyes when she caught me that morning, already showered and dressed to head out to the studios. "Why are you up so early?" she moaned, beelining to the coffee maker.

I smiled at her, throwing my backpack over my shoulder and shrugged. "It's already nine."

"_Already_ _nine_?" she gagged. "You're out of your mind, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering your brother is too."

I think I threw up a little in my mouth. I really didn't want to know how well she knew Riley. It was just… gahhhh.

"I'll see you later," I waved before she mumbled a "see ya" in response.

Luckily, the subway employee was nice enough to tell me which trains to get on so I could make it to the theater in peace. Sure it took over half an hour, but I didn't think much of it. The weight of my ballet slippers, my iPod, towel, pointe shoes, gel pads, and a pretty extensive first aid kit in my backpack was my security blanket on the interesting ride when I had too many men leer at me in my ratty sweats, sneakers, and hoodie.

I had my paperwork ready for the receptionist at the studio who greeted me with a little too much enthusiasm, and explained where the various sized studios were located in what had initially looked like a rinky-dink building. In reality, the place was pretty freaking huge, at least in comparison to me and Carmen's apartment. The facilities weren't as nice or modern as PNB, my old stomping grounds, but I liked the simplistic vibe I got.

Taking my time to look into the studios to find one empty, I found three different large rooms occupied with young girls in one, what looked like apprentice-aged girls in another, and a couple of older dancers in the third. Continuing to walk down the hallway, I found a much smaller empty room and dropped my bag to the floor.

After stretching and taking off my street clothes to put on my pointe shoes, I hooked up my old block of an iPod to the speakers and set my practice playlist on the highest volume. The barre work flowed easily through me, changing from first position through fifth with an ease I didn't appreciate enough.

In no time at all, I'd been in there for four hours and my stomach was grumbling. So, I packed up my stuff and grabbed my towel to wipe off on the walk back to the front. I had a thin sheen of sweat coating my entire body but I didn't care. I'd barely closed the door to the room when I heard someone shout, "Hey!"

You know that awkward moment when you think someone is talking to you, or waving at you, but really they're trying to communicate with someone else? I tried to avoid that, so I pretended like I didn't hear the voice bellowing out from the very end of the hall while I cleaned off. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I peered over the edge of the towel to see three dancers squabbling loudly right by the main door that led to the lobby. They looked to about my age if not older, but they slipped into one of the studios less than ten seconds later.

I didn't like to call myself _nosey_ per se. If you wanted to nosey I could point you in the direction of Alec or Jessie, those two were the definition of nosey. I'd even go as far as to call them borderline stalkers, but _me_, I was merely… a curious person. So when I passed by that very last studio where the three dancers had gone, I stopped and peeped in through the small window of the door.

There were two men and a woman. One of the men, who looked to be in his late twenties with dark blonde hair and a very slim build, was standing just to the right of the woman, who seemed to be just a bit older than me with cola colored hair, in what looked like a _pas de deux_, or just a fancy word for partner work, going into a presage lift where the man lifted her over his head.

I probably stood there, watching the two dancers practice the lift over and over again in silence for five minutes until I heard another voice coming from the side of the room I couldn't see.

"I know your shoulder hurts but I can see you struggling," the low voice said in a gentle tone.

The blonde man turned to look in the direction the voice was coming from, rolling his eyes. "I'm not even making a face, Edward."

"You don't have to make a face for me to see it in your eyes. You look like you're constipated, man. Your eyes just bulge out," the unseen man laughed.

The pretty woman smirked in the direction of the man. "You had Mexican food for dinner last night, didn't you?"

The blonde man looked at the woman and then toward the man I couldn't see with a blank facial expression. "I'm refilling my water bottle, assholes. You guys want me to fill up yours too?"

I squeaked and hopped away from the door, not wanting to get caught. I didn't want to call myself shy, but I also wouldn't want to be known as the Peeping Tom before we even started rehearsals. Walking out of the studio with a quick wave to the receptionist, I reminded myself to go on the VBT website tonight and look up the dancers in the company. I mean I was going to be working with these people for a while. I might as well get to know their faces beforehand.

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><p>Tweeter me: marianazapata_<p>

Image of a presage (the lift mentioned): http : / www (dot) google (dot) com/imgres?q=presage+lift&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1267&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbnid=Kr41S6LaKceV6M:&imgrefurl=.com/2011/02/22/pause-les-presages/&docid=o15A6GEt6FRrzM&imgurl=.&w=398&h=594&ei=68UrT8j6OrSA2QXvhrD4Dg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=297&vpy=114&dur=1659&hovh=274&hovw=184&tx=109&ty=115&sig=112398932293492790917&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=100&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0


	5. Chapter 5

You guys are too wonderful. Kisses and hugs for all of you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own Balletward.

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><p>When I walked into my apartment that night, my legs were loose and I was covered in old coffee some stranger on the subway spilled on me. I'd no sooner opened the door than I heard, "My name is Buck, and I like to fuck!" being wailed from the living room.<p>

Having seen _Kill Bill_ about ten times, I recognized the line since it was Alec's favorite in the entire movie.

The problem was… I knew that there was something special about Carmen the day we met in person. When I'd gone to fill up a glass of water, I heard her mumbling under her breath while typing on the computer. "This tall drink of cocksucker ain't dead." I'd looked from one side to the other trying to figure out what in the hell she was talking about… or crap, _who_ she was talking to.

Later that night, she was standing at the stove stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce when out of nowhere, she whispers, "It all depends, when you want to _die_?"

I called Riley that night, both to let him know that I made it and to ask him what the hell was wrong with his friend. "She's quoting Kill Bill lines to herself, Ri."

He started laughing hysterically, like the time he and Alec had Saran-wrapped the rim of the toilet and stood outside of the door until I shrieked when my pee overflowed the sides of the toilet. "About that…" he huffed out at the end of his laugh.

I knew it wasn't like Carmen was _really_ crazy. Riley wouldn't have let me move in with her if she was out of her freaking mind, but…

"She's kind of obsessed with Tarantino, and depending on her moods, she'll go from one film to another, kind of like she's watching the movie in her head," he squeaked out before chuckling. "She quoted _Pulp Fiction_ for an entire month."

So, fortunately I was now prepared for her random words. "I'm home, Carmen," I told her, walking past the living room into my bedroom.

Carmen called out after me, "Hi Duck!" It flowed from her lips so naturally, you would've figured she was a member of the Swan clan.

Once I'd showered and settled down onto my lumpy mattress, I opened my computer and went onto the VBT website to do some internet stalking… or as I would rather call it —research.

The website was pretty neatly organized with a section for each of the dancers. While VBT wasn't the largest company in the country, it wasn't exactly small either. There were forty members split between three groups. I clicked on the Principals, which were the men and women with the most experience who got the lead roles. There were eleven of them in black and white pictures, and I recognized the pretty girl from the studio that afternoon as Alice Brandon. The blonde man was also a Principal, which I guess made a ton of sense if he was rehearsing with Alice, and his name was James Richards. The other faces were attractive in their own right but I wouldn't be able to remember them later on.

Then there were the Soloists. Their name was explanation enough and eight names were listed. I clicked through each name slowly, reading what schools and companies they'd all trained at before I hit the middle of the list and paused.

**Edward Masen.**

I knew better than to get excited about a pretty male face. _Especially_ a very pretty face with a square jaw and long eyelashes. I couldn't count the number of times I'd met another dancer that I thought was attractive who ended up either being gay or having an ego the size of the Empire State Building.

I looked at the Edward fella one more time before clicking through the rest of the Soloists and then the Corps.

Gay. He was definitely gay.

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><p>Twitter me: marianazapata_<p>

Blog me: http : / www . marianazapata . com


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you guys for being so wonderful! The train is continuing to chug along. Here's a shortie.

Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, but the words under here are.

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><p>The next day, I got up early and headed over to the studio to get a good practice session in. My night was restless for some reason and I knew that the only thing capable of soothing the itching under my skin was practicing and just dancing in general. Where some people smoked to relax, I put on music and just kind of went with it.<p>

Thanking the holy Jesus, I made it through the subway ride without getting harassed or getting spilled on. Being the middle of the week, there seemed to be less people on the subway than there had been the whopping one other day I'd been on.

The same receptionist from the day before, I think her name was Lauren, waved me in from the moment I opened the doors. "Hi Isabella."

"Hi. How are you?" I asked, giving her a wary smile. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she'd been kind of weird the day before. Unless she was on her period, then that would explain a lot.

"I'm great," she fluttered two pale blue eyes at me. "Some of the other company members are here and they'd like to meet you."

I instantly regretted not putting on any make-up before leaving the apartment. And choosing my oldest leotard, which was a faded purple with holes dotting the seams, _and_ my rattiest —Alec liked to use the word _hoochie mama_ instead— yoga shorts was not my best decision.

Smiling and nodding, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, thanking God that at least I brushed my teeth and hair. "Yeah, sure."

"They're in Studio C," Lauren said before I walked into the direction of the rooms.

Hoisting my backpack higher up on my shoulders like a security blanket, I may have taken my time walking to the right room. I don't know what it was about _introducing myself_ instead of being introduced that made me really nervous. I didn't have a problem dancing in front of huge audiences but meeting people was what made my hands clammy.

Pausing at the door, I knocked lightly. After a minute, I didn't get a response so I looked through the little window to see that the studio was empty. Frowning, I shrugged and hightailed it to the same small room I used the day before. I took my time stretching, making sure to stay in the different split positions longer than usual so I could work on my leaps.

I'm not sure how long I was in there; after a lengthy barre workout, I started running through some routines I'd done in the past so I could warm up before attacking some grand jetés.

There was something about leaps that pulled me in more fiercely than any other aspect of ballet. They were my greatest strength and the only thing I could thank was the good ol' Swan genes for my athleticism. People could snicker at me as much as they wanted, but these thighs were good for something.

No sooner had I finished Gamzatti, did I hear a low applause echo throughout the room followed by a voice that could only be described as hot chocolate. "Well now I know what all the fuss is about."

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><p>A version of Gamzatti: http :  youtu . be / JDlhyN5Ee44


	7. Chapter 7

You guys... I love you. A big cup of hot chocolate for all of you! tehehe Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own Balletward.

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><p>"You have great legs," the dark, milky voice finished.<p>

Buhhhh…

I froze slowly before turning around to face the direction of… were they compliments? I couldn't help but smirk, when I caught the truest green eyes I'd ever seen. They weren't a light, transparent color or even a dark emerald… they were just _bright_.

The black and white picture from the night before didn't do any justice to the man standing across the room. They two-toned image couldn't capture the intensity of his eyes or the sharp angle of his square jaw. Edward Masen was absolutely beautiful.

_And probably gay, Bella_.

He stood there with a tight, faded black t-shirt and the standard, fitting black pants most male ballet dancers wore. They looked more like leggings than pants but it was the norm.

"Thank you," I said, allowing the smirk on my face to drop into a shy smile.

The man stalked toward me with lengthy, long strides that spoke volumes about his gracefulness. "I'm Edward," he introduced himself just a few steps away.

I thrust my hand out nervously when he stopped just a couple of feet away. "I'm Bella, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, little bird," I swear the man practically purred out his words before wrapping my hand in both of his large, warm palms.

I know I raised an eyebrow at his words. There was no way in hell Duck had made its way out of both Washington and the apartment so soon. "Little bird?"

"Esme said you reminded her of a bird when you dance because you get so much air," he explained with an intense gaze, letting go of my hand to cross his arms over his chest. "She's right, I can see why."

"Are you sure she didn't mean a vulture?" I tried to joke but probably failed miserably.

He looked at me for like a brief moment before he threw his head back and laughed, giving me a second to admire the rippling muscles in his forearms and chest. It should be said that although most men in the business were long and slim, Edward's shoulders were a little more broad than normal, he looked to have more of a swimmer's build than a dancer's because he was easily six foot one or two.

My face flushed at his laugh, but I was pleased he caught my joke. "Well," I said softly.

"No, you don't look at all like a vulture," he said with a big smile, swiping at his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue.

A light knock on the door made us both look in the direction before the door opened and the same woman from the day before peeked her head into the room. "Hi!" the woman, I think her name was Alice, squealed out.

Edward waved her in with the flick of a hand. "Bella, this is Alice. She's in the company, too. Alice this is Bella, the girl Esme ," he raised a thick eyebrow in her direction that I caught, "told us about."

Her eyes widened like she remembered what Esme, whoever she was, said about me. Hopefully it was good stuff. "Oh! Oh yes, nice to meet you, Bella." She took short but quick steps to stand before us.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"We were waiting to come introduce ourselves later but this schmuck right here said he was going to the bathroom, and then didn't come back," she said with a roll of her eyes. "

I looked at Edward who just shrugged in a way that seemed lacking a fragment of an apology while keeping those strange green eyes on me. "I told Lauren to tell you that we wanted to meet you before rehearsals start next week."

"Oh, she did," I tried defending the receptionist. "I went by the studio but it was empty."

They both nodded in understanding before Alice cocked her head in the direction of the door. "We're going over some lifts with another company member who's recovering from an injury last season, would you like to come with us?"

I ducked my head a little, trying to decide whether I wanted to go or not. There really wasn't too much more I could go over and the last thing I wanted to do was piss off two people I'd just met who were being nice… I looked up to see Edward giving me an encouraging smile before he opened his mouth to answer for me. "She's coming."


	8. Chapter 8

Call this the little story that could. We're chugging, guys. We're chugging! Thank you all for being so great.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward.

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><p>I raised an eyebrow at the stunning man in front of me but turned to look at Alice with a shrug. "I guess I'm coming with you."<p>

The pretty woman widened her eyes at me in amusement before smiling, and then nodding. "I guess you are."

A few minutes later, I'd packed up my stuff and followed the two more experienced dancers down the hall to Studio C. Alice followed close to my side and I could feel her gaze on me the entire time. She made small talk, explaining that James — the dancer waiting in the other room — hurt his rotator cuff muscle at the end of the last season and went through surgery a few months back to fix it.

"He says he's back to normal," she rolled her big, prism-looking eyes. "He's not though, so we're trying to help him get that usable strength back into his shoulder. Otherwise, Esme won't trust him with certain roles."

"Who's Esme?" I asked softly, like the volume of my question would sound less stupid if it was barely audible. I knew the artistic director of the company was Carlisle Cullen, a legendary male ballet dancer who was regarded as one of the best directors in the dance world. But this Esme character, was not a familiar name.

Alice used her shoulder to push open the door. "She was our associate artistic director last year, but she was promoted to be our new executive director over the break."

I nodded my understanding at her before following into the room, feeling a warm palm press into my lower back to urge me in. I didn't turn around because I'd been raised with people who had no sense of personal space. "Jamie, this is Bella. Remember the girl Esme told us about?" Edward introduced me to the slim man standing in front of the mirrors with a bare chest.

James smiled at me before walking toward me with an extended hand. "Ahh yes, I'm glad you're the one we're meeting and not the other two girls," I saw Alice gave him a wary look. "Not that we don't want to meet the other members, but…"

"Just quit talking. You're making us look like jerks," Edward cut in with a shake of his head. "Let's just work on your boat lift."

The blonde man nodded almost too enthusiastically. "Please."

I made my way over to sit in front of the mirrors, watching James lift Alice overhead time and time again as they tried to move from a two-handed lift to the same lift but with a single hand. Edward would bark out corrections to him each time, about aligning his posture or relaxing his shoulders. "Now you look like you're trying to take a crap, Jay."

James brought Alice down slowly, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. "This is so frustrating," he moaned.

"Let's just try it on your knees, man, and then we can work our way up to standing." Those deep green eyes looked at me before he smiled. "Will you do the lift with me so I can show him what a relaxed face looks like?"

I nodded and stood up, pulling down at my too-small shorts. I wondered for a moment why he didn't get Alice to do it with him but figured it wasn't a big deal. "Sure, but I haven't done it in a while," I told him honestly. It wasn't often I got paired up with a male partner for roles in the past, so even though I had some experience, it wasn't a lot.

He held his hand out to me. "Don't be scared."

"I've never seen him drop anyone before," Alice piped in, coming to stand right in front of us.

"That's…. _reassuring_," I laughed, stepping away a few feet. "Are you ready?"

He smirked and nodded. "James, look." Edward waved at me to come over.

Getting just enough momentum to help him out from having to lift dead-weight, his hands wrapped around my hips and steadily brought me up when I leapt into them, keeping in mind to balance out my weight. He was holding me steady.

"Ooh, that was nice," Alice cooed from behind me. I smiled at no one, just trying to focus on doing my share of the lifting. I had Riley doing lifts with me forever and he wasn't shy about telling me if I wasn't holding myself up enough. That was the wonder of lifts, it was both partners working, not just one.

A few seconds later, I felt him start lowering me to the ground with ease. As soon as I landed on my feet upright, his hands lingered on my hips longer than usual. I looked up at him and smiled, which he returned with a sweet quirk of lips and a dimpled cheek. "You're a good partner."

God, I kind of hoped he _was_ gay.

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><p>The boat lift: http :  www . google . com / imgres?q=ballet+boat+lift&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1267&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbnid=tpgz-IR_qaSpuM:&imgrefurl=.com/photo/feature/&docid=_u0FFK9qTGQZ9M&imgurl=.&w=980&h=651&ei=Gf4wT8-AGpKCsAKC6rmMBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=302&vpy=124&dur=125&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=217&ty=153&sig=112398932293492790917&page=3&tbnh=157&tbnw=206&start=41&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:41


	9. Chapter 9

You guys rock. Here's a short thing and there will be another one later on. xoxo to all of you!

Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight, but I do own two crazy dogs.

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><p>The next few days went by quickly. I settled into a routine of waking up, showering, eating, going to the studio to practice, eating, more practice, a usually interesting subway ride home, eating while watching a movie with Carmen, checking in with either my dad or Beavis and Butthead, and sleeping. It wasn't too different from my routine back home but… I missed my family. I never admitted it to anyone but I really freaking missed them.<p>

So, I tried to make the best out of living with Carmen. She was really nice to me and so open that it was easy to see her fitting into my life like one of my brothers did. She wasn't pretentious, mean, self-centered, or polite. Carmen reminded me of warmth and love, just like my family… except for her creepy quotes at random times throughout the day. But then again, none of us are perfect.

My dad has no control over his bowel movements and has no interest in reining them in. Alec has an extreme phobia of clowns and Riley _has_ to check his alarm six times before he goes to sleep. And yet, I love them and wouldn't change them for anything. I could deal with Carmen.

I didn't see Alice, Edward, or James again after meeting them. We stayed in the room for another hour or so while Jamie, as they called him, started practicing his lifts with Alice on his knees. They seemed really nice and it made me happy that they were trying to include me instead of pawning me off as the "new girl."

The first day of company class, I woke up earlier than usual and completely freaking nauseous. I felt like I was going to vomit and my stomach cramped constantly, warning me that it was nervous. Lauren, the receptionist, told me how to get to the main company studio and I trudged my way over there, clinging onto my backpack straps for dear life.

There were already about twenty dancers in the room by the time I made it in. Looking around, I pressed a hand against my stomach to try and ease the butterflies before I heard, "Bella!" from the corner of the room.

It was James, thank you sweet Jesus, and he was waving me over from his split position. I walked over there as quickly as I could, while trying to smile at the other dancers who were looking at me warily. Dropping my bag onto the floor right next to him, he grabbed my forearm gently in greeting. "I'm so glad you're here," I mumbled shyly.

"I got here early in case you did," he told me with a kind smile. "I remember what it's like joining a new company and having everyone looking at you like you're a baby zebra in a room full of lions." James leaned closer to me, which seemed like it'd be impossible since he was still in a split. "These bitches are ruthless."

I couldn't help but smile and nod, knowing all too well what some dancers were like. They'd probably give up their soul for a leading role. I, on the other hand, valued my soul and wouldn't give it up without a fight. "Thank you."

We stretched together silently for the next few minutes except for when another dancer would walk by and eye me critically, earning a frown from James before they scurried off. Later on, Alice trickled in and sat down next to me, kissing both Jamie and —surprisingly but not at all unpleasantly — me too. "Hey," she smiled. "Are you protecting her from the sharks?" she whispered to the blonde man.

"Of course," he laughed, gesturing in the direction of a brunette and blonde across the room.

"Are they really that bad?" I asked, feeling apprehensive. I'd never had anyone dislike me before… well, at least without good reason. I'd been a member of PNB for so long that it was more of a family atmosphere there since everyone already knew each others roles but new dancers were always looked at way more critically.

Alice snickered while tying the ribbons of her pointe shoes around her tiny ankles. "Yes," and the fact that she didn't go into details made me nervous.

"Not everyone is bad, but everyone here is so competitive, it's hard to know who your real friends are." James answered glumly. I saw a spark of something in his eye, like he'd been burned in the past and had learned that the hard way. "Where's Edward?" James asked.

An image of his dimpled smile flashed through my brain for a second. Where was he?


	10. Chapter 10

*jazz hands* another chapter! i'm getting on track now so yay, yay, and more yay. enjoy!

disclaimer: i don't own twilight.

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><p>"He was working on some new choreography in one of the rooms when I walked by," Alice answered, flexing her feet right by my face.<p>

James nodded before shifting his legs to stretch them out wide. "I wanna see."

"What do you want to see?" that unique, warm voice asked from behind me.

"Your new choreography," the blonde man answered.

Edward dropped to a squat right next to me at the same time two of his fingers grazed the shell of my ear so lightly it was a miracle that my nipples didn't harden. I was wearing a sports bra underneath my leotard but the material was so thin, there would be no hiding those bad boys. Edward looked at James with a smug smile before turning to look in my direction. "Hi Bella."

I squeaked out a "Hi" while crossing my arms over my chest.

There was a general shift of energy and murmurs in the room as the man I recognized as Carlisle Cullen, the artistic director of VBT, walked through the massive studio to stand in front of the mirrors. Everyone stood up slowly where they were before applauding. Carlisle was in his early forties and sort of stunning with short blonde hair parted neatly to the side and dressed much nicer than any man to ever grace the cover of GQ.

"Good morning everyone! I want to take a minute out of your time to welcome all of you back to our 2012 season here at Volturi. I'm really excited about the productions that we have in store for our audience this year. As many of you know, apart from a few members becoming Soloists and Principals," there were some applause. "We added three new members to the company. Girls, if you could please introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about you, so we can welcome you warmly into our family."

James snickered when the word _family _was said. My stomach started throbbing painfully like it did when I was back in school and had to do those icebreaker routines to get to know our fellow students.

I was in luck because a pretty, petite girl on the other side of the room started talking about herself. I couldn't remember her name to save my life since I was so focused on the pains in my belly. As soon as that girl stopped talking, another girl, tall and slender named Maria began telling the company about the prestigious places she'd studied and danced at in the past. Alice poked me in the back in the middle of the girl talking so that I turned around and caught her waggling her eyebrows at me.

As if everyone in the room didn't already know who the new people were, when Maria stopped talking, they all turned in my direction where I stood with James on one side and Edward on the other.

My traitorous face went red. "Hi everyone, my name is Bella Swan," I heard someone on the opposite side snicker. "I'm from Seattle, Washington. I've studied at PNB for pretty much my entire life besides a few summer workshops at the San Francisco school, the Houston Ballet, and the New York Ballet. Umm.. I'm really excited to be here," I spit out in exactly two breaths.

Carlisle Cullen went on to say a few more things after welcoming the new dancers once more, before walking out. We all went to the nearest ballet barre to start our company class. Alice took the lead of the empty barre closest to us, with Jamie behind her, me, and then Edward at the end.

"Your extension is fantastic," I heard him whisper about halfway through the exercise.

I turned around quick as lightning to shoot him a smile. "Thank you."

About twenty minutes before class was supposed to end, we pushed the barres to the edges of the room to work on leaps. We went in groups of seven to do a set of cabriole leaps. Alice and James both went in the first few groups but Edward and I hung back, shooting each other smiles when the dark haired woman and light haired man showed their natural talent.

Someone called out for the next group and I felt Edward elbow me in the side. "You're up, little bird." I smiled before running onto the floor to start the set of cabriole leaps, which weren't my favorite but they'd do. It went by faster than I could've expected and when I finished to run off the floor at the same time the handsome man I'd met ran on, he gave me a blinding smile.

"God, Bella. It looks like you defy gravity or something," Alice hissed at me when I stopped right next to her.

I couldn't help but blush, "Thanks. No one's ever really said anything about them besides my family, but they think I'm the next ballet prodigy." I laughed.

The soft landings of the men brought my attention back onto the floor. The other men in the company were exceptional but that wasn't surprising at all. They were fluid and beautiful, but it was — and this shouldn't have been a surprise — Edward who was just… magnificent. He did a double without blinking.

There was a movie I'd seen about a million times as a kid called _The Turning Point,_ with the great male dancer Baryshnikov, and I kind of fell in love with him then. _He _was an athlete. There was no way you couldn't keep your eyes off of him when he danced and Edward reminded me a lot of him.

As soon as he started walking off the floor, the blonde that James had pointed out earlier, reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to her. A sick part of me wanted to watch for some reason, but James grabbed my arm a breath later.

"I hope we're in the same Giselle cast," he said.

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><p>cabriole: http :  youtu . be/lyOQHxC5we8


	11. Chapter 11

You guys are the best.

On a very important note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TWIGGALINA!

On another note: To my anonymous reader who reviewed after reading SaG in the ER, I hope you're okay!

I'm sucking with responding to reviews but I'll get to them tomorrow! :) xoxo to all of you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own a copy of Center Stage.

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><p>I wasn't in the same cast as James or Edward.<p>

Alice did a mini cabriole leap out of excitement when she found out that we were in the same one, at least.

They split us up into different groups, and set about teaching us all too quickly what routines we were going to do. Since I was in the corps, I already knew I'd be in all of the group scenes. Even though we were the lowest of the low in the company, I always felt like we had the toughest jobs. If one person didn't do something correctly or on time, if she or he didn't mirror the person closest to them, it was like a drop of black ink on white paper.

Once the corp was moved to rehearse in a different studio, I only got to see Edward, James, and Alice during company class before we were pulled into different rooms for four hours of rehearsal. Each group was in their own room, learning and perfecting their choreography before Carlisle put it all together.

Everything was fine, except for the fact that only a handful of the other dancers talked to me.

So, on Friday after company class when Carlisle requested that we all rehearse what we had covered over the week, I sat with Alice on the edges of the dance floor while the other cast went on. Those who weren't dancing were stretching and going over their routines on the other side of the room.

"Ooh, Edward is about to do his duet with the mother of all twats," Alice whispered when the two Principals that had been going over their routine walked to the corner of the room.

Sure enough, Edward and the blonde that had grabbed his arm earlier in the week got into position. I would have liked to say that she sucked but she didn't. She wasn't _amazing_ but she was really good even though her facial expression was so disjointed and faraway that she reminded me of a robot.

"They don't have any chemistry together," Alice said under her breath. "I've tried telling Esme that cyborgs aren't capable of having feelings but she won't listen to me."

I had to slap a palm over my mouth to stop from laughing out loud. "Is she the T-800 model?" I hacked out, trying to disguise my laugh as a couch. I'd lived off Terminator as a kid. Alec and Riley worshipped the ground Arnold walked on, so I had to, too, or else I would've been fearing for my life. Well, my ass would fear the wedgie I'd get harassed with.

Alice's face turned pink before she looked away. "Bella Swan, you are bad!" she cackled facing another direction.

Once, the first cast finished, the rest of us got up to go over our part. It was fine with Carlisle making corrections for what we needed to work on. Two hours later, the entire routine was done and we were dismissed for the weekend. Alice pulled on my arm on our walk over to grab out stuff.

"Do you want to go out with us tonight?"

I bit my lip and smiled. "I don't really drink."

She squealed and nodded. "Me neither! It's fun to just sit there and watch everyone else get drunk though."

"Who's going?" I asked her, stopping to pick up my backpack.

"Me, my boyfriend—," I felt a little ignorant because I didn't even know she had a boyfriend. "James, Edward, and Emmett, Edward's brother." She waggled her neat black eyebrows. "Please? I hate being the only girl."

I caught a glance of Edward standing just to the right in deep conversation with the twatty blonde Alice had pointed out. There was a wrinkle in his forehead as he spoke to her.

"Please?" Alice asked again, fluttering her eyelashes at me. "Bella?"

I had a feeling she didn't hear, "No" very often.

"Sure, but you're going to have to tell me how to get there." I answered her.


	12. Chapter 12

Here's a short update. I wasn't really in the mood to write last night but *crosses fingers* maybe tonight I'll pop another one out. You guys are the best!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward.

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><p>"Do you have your pepper spray with you?" Carmen's concerned voice pierces the backdrop of the movie playing in the background while I grab my purse off the kitchen counter.<p>

"Yes."

"You know for sure how to get there?" she asked.

I pulled my purse over my head, to lay across my body and smile at the dark eyes peering at me from over the back of the couch. "Yes ma'am. My friend told me how to get there."

Carmen sat up a little taller on the couch, narrowing her eyes in my direction. "I'll ride with you over there since I'm heading in that direction anyway."

I can't help but laugh at her kind gesture. "It's fine!"

"Duck, if something happens to you, your brother will kill me," she deadpanned. "And he's told me before he wouldn't hit a girl, but I _know _he'll make an exception for me if something happens to you."

Shaking my head, I start walking backward toward the door. "He will hit a girl. Trust me. I know from experience, but I'll be fine. See ya!" I may or may not have rushed out of the door so that I wouldn't hear her try and talk me out of riding the subway to the bar I was meeting Alice at in half an hour.

Exactly twenty minutes later, I was walking into the Irish pub Alice had given me instructions to get to. It looked like a quaint thing on the outside but once in, it was a lot bigger than the impression it gave. Noticing that I was ten minutes early, I kind of regretted not being ten minutes late so that I wouldn't have to sit around and—

"Bella!" A loud voice managed to cut past the loud banter in the business. Over the heads of a group of people, I saw a waving hand in the middle of the room. "Bella!"

Walking around a small group of people, I found James standing up on the tips of his toes waving his hand back and forth to get my attention with a big smile on his face. He walked over to me, grinning from ear to ear, dressed neatly in khaki slacks and a white button-up shirt.

"I wasn't sure if you'd make it or not," he said.

I shrugged and smiled at the blonde man with bright blue eyes. "My roommate was really disappointed to know she wouldn't have to stay home and keep me company tonight." I stopped right in front of him before he waved me to follow him.

"I keep forgetting that you just moved here. You don't have any friends?" he asked me with a frown like that was the saddest thing he'd ever heard.

"Umm… no," I smiled but really, it hurt me. I know that he didn't question me to make me upset but all it did was remind me of my family, Jessie, and my other friends back home. Friends that hadn't called me. Were they really friends then? But then again, I didn't call them either.

We maneuvered our way to a table where I immediately recognized Edward's hair from behind as well as another man with the same exact color, who had to be his brother. "We're friends, right?"

"Who the hell would want to be your friend— Bella!" Edward started to ask while turning around to face our approaching forms. He smiled this huge grin that made the lonesome feeling before go away. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Surprise."


	13. Chapter 13

I'm pooped, but I heart you guys. Here's a short thing and I'll see you tomorrow!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own Balletward.

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><p>"Who are you and why haven't I met you before?" a deep voice behind Edward bellowed. "Edward? Jamie? Why haven't I met her before?"<p>

The bronze haired man in front of me rolled his eyes before a hooking a thumb to point behind him. "Emmett, this is Bella. Bella, this is my brother, Emmett," he introduced me.

I took a step closer to him and then to the side to see a huge man leaning over the table with his arms crossed. He had hair that was slightly darker than Edward's, broader shoulders, thicker muscles— he looked like he could have been one of the wrestlers I used to watch on WWF with Alec and Riley. "Nice to meet you, Emmett," I smiled at the dimpled man, who could've been extremely intimidating if it wasn't for the fact that he had a goofy smile.

Green eyes that could have easily been mistaken for blue widened when I stuck my hand out to him. "Weeeeeeeeeellllllll, hello Bella," he said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly. "Why haven't I met you before?"

I couldn't help but laugh, turning to glance at a blank-faced Edward and a smirking James. I'd barely opened my mouth when Edward said in a clear voice, "She just moved here to join VBT with us."

It looked like someone deflated Emmett's face. "You're a _dancer_?"

Welllll, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

My face heated up in embarrassment and I looked at James who was glaring at Edward. "Well, _yeah_. I didn't think that was a bad thing." I said in a low voice, feeling like I'd been chastised even though I was sitting with two other professional dancers.

"It's not, Bella." James replied, rolling his eyes. "He's just mad because he doesn't date dancers—"

"Anymore," he interjected. "Me and Edward here don't date dancers anymore."

I'd like to believe that I didn't make a face at his clarification but I probably did. It felt like a stone settled in my stomach. An image of the blonde he was doing a duet with flickered through my brain, but so did Alice's dislike for her. It didn't seem like Edward would be interested in someone that Alice hated so much. I guess he wasn't gay and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Well, that was a lie. I knew exactly how I felt. Disappointed.

I think I'd rather think he was gay than just not interested in coworkers.

Forcing a smile onto my face, I forced myself even more to shrug.

_No big deal, Bella. No. Big. Deal._

Emmett's blue-green eyes flashed to me before he perked up again, the broad muscles in his back coiling. "I thought I'd be able to wrangle you in as my future wife, so I'm just a little disappointed." He sighed with a wink.

Edward groaned, burying his face between his hands and I immediately felt like I swallowed a lemon. I'd met plenty of other dancers who didn't date each other so I couldn't blame him for staying away. _It's not a big deal._

"You can gladly have your lasso back to wrangle in another fillie," I smiled at him, folding my jacket on my lap so that my hands wouldn't shake. It really wasn't a big deal but suddenly, my decision to stay sober kind of went through the roof. "I'm going to grab a drink."


	14. Chapter 14

Guys, I suck. I'm sorry for not responding to reviews yet but you're in my heart, I swear. I appreciate all of them very much :)

disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward.

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><p>I'd been twenty-one for nine months by the time I moved to New York.<p>

In those nine months, I'd had exactly six drinks. Four of those drinks took place on the night of my birthday with Alec and Jessie. The other two drinks were a month later when I saw Riley for the first time since my birthday and he took me out to a bar with two of his hockey player friends.

Neither one of those nights ended successfully.

The first night ended with Alec holding my hair back when I puked inside his truck. Repeatedly.

The next night went along different lines. I made out with Riley's hot hockey player friend when he went to the bathroom and his friend ended up with a black eye courtesy of my brother four minutes later. To this day, I still tell poor Felix that I'm sorry but he shrugs it off and tells me it was worth it. On that note, he never made another move on me again. I don't blame him for valuing his balls.

So, I should have known better than to drink two long island iced teas within an hour. By the time Alice and her tall and cute boyfriend, Jasper, made it, I was hanging off my stool — and the table — and cackling over Emmett's hysterical explanation as to why he didn't date dancers anymore.

"She asked me if I really needed to eat the other half of my burger!" he hissed with wide, drunken eyes. "I'm not fat."

Alice had pulled up a chair to sit right next to me, shaking her head. "Oh boo-hoo, are you telling Bella about that twat telling you that you were chunky?"

Something about her words rang familiar in my head and I frowned. "Wait, Rosalie is the queen of the twats?" Rosalie was the name of the girl that Emmett had just finished telling me all about. The bitch-dancer that had ruined him for all other females that weighed less than one-hundred and twenty pounds.

I didn't bother tell him that I weighed just a couple pounds over his limit.

"Yes!" she nodded all too eagerly, snatching a glass of crown and coke that Jamie was nursing. "She's not just a bitch with us, she's a bitch to everyone in general."

"Just thinking about her makes me want a drink. Ladies.. and... ladies? Anything?" Emmett mumbled, standing up to head to the bar.

Grumbles and I'm pretty sure someone shot him the finger answered him. And with that, I was found drinking something with the word sour in it. It might have been the alcohol I'd been chugging down to avoid the green eyes I felt on me the entire night. Watching, watching, watching. The green eyes that stayed on me were also the same green eyes that didn't want me for who I was, for who I'd worked to be.

Or, maybe I was too drunk to really know what the hell was going on. Everything seemed to have gotten a little fuzzy around the edges at some point.

When my phone rang from somewhere deep inside my purse, I couldn't find it. It rang again and I still couldn't find it. A hand with long, slender fingers plucked my purse from my lap and rummaged through it before handing me my battered phone. I looked up to see that it was Edward holding it out and I gave him a lazy smile. I'd barely said "Thanks" when my phone started ringing yet again, 'Carmen' flashing across the screen.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Duck? Are you okay?"

I kept looking at Edward who was staring at me intently. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She didn't say anything for a moment. "Can I talk to one of your friends, please?"

"Which one? There's Edward, Alice, James... I think Emmett is my friend now..." The same hand that passed me my phone was in front of me again, opening and closing his up-turned palm. "Oh wait, here's Edward."

He took the phone from me and spoke softly into the receiver for a minute, grinning a couple times throughout the conversation, before he grabbed my purse and slipped it back inside the largest pocket. Edward stood up and tugged on his black jacket over his emerald green hoodie. "We're leaving, guys."

"Who's we?" Emmett bellowed from across the table, looking around like someone new had joined our table without him knowing.

Edward smiled and shook his head before moving around his stool to come stand behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders in a way that made my heightened — and drunk — nerves tingle. "I'm in charge of making sure Bella gets home safely or else I'll be risking the safety of my genitalia," he laughed.

I was a little too gone to care that they were treating me like a kid but I wasn't all there. I'd probably get on the wrong subway and end up on the wrong side of the island in the state I was in. So, when Edward started getting me to put my jacket on, I didn't fight him. His hands brushed up the lengths of my arms once it was on. That I could remember but the rest I couldn't. I couldn't focus on whether I told them all bye or not but hopefully I did, but I was all too aware of Edward and his pretty face leading me toward the doors of the pub and outside to the street, while his hand wrapped around my forearm as a guide.

He was whistling too loudly at some point and then pushing me on my lower back to get into the back of a cab. My head hung back against the seat, limply.

"Bella? Tell me if you start to feel sick, okay?" his low voice murmured in the dark cab.

I think I nodded but I probably didn't. "My head just feels funny," I replied.

"You're not used to drinking that much, huh?"

I don't know why I laughed but I did. "Yeah."I rolled my head to look at the handsome man sitting next to me. The handsome man who probably only dated girls with huge boobs and college degrees. "Did some dancing girl break our heart, too?" I slithered out like the drunk I was.

He blinked straight ahead before turning to look at me out of the corner of his eye. "No, Bella. No one's broken my heart."

I swallowed hard, fighting the gross taste in my mouth. "Oh."

"Bella?" he asked me, keeping those almost glow-in-the-dark eyes in my direction. "Why does the girl on the phone call you Duck?"

I giggled and rubbed a hand over my face, and took a deep breath. "My nickname."

"You'll have to tell me about that later."

I nodded before turning to glance at him again. "Mm'kay." I smiled and swallowed hard again. "Thanks for making sure I get home."

He gave me this grin that I could later on, when sober, consider as tender and playful. "Sure, Duck."


	15. Chapter 15

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!

My computer died on me last night, and I just found my boyfriend's old one to use in the mean time. Here's a short update. *crosses fingers* Maybe more tonight but no promises. Thank you all so much for your reviews and kind words!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward and Duck.

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><p>"Where's your key at, little bird?" Edward whispered into my ear.<p>

I giggled and held my purse out to him, waggling my eyebrows like a jackass. "In here."

He smiled, not seemingly annoyed in any way with having just practically hauled me up three flights of stairs. Edward had to put my arm over his shoulders, wrapping an arm around my waist to make sure I didn't bust my ass. He looked through my bag for a minute before fishing out my small keychain, it was a small, yellow metal duck with a key for my New York apartment and my house back in Seattle. He unlocked the door and pushed me through with the palm of his hand on my back. "C'mon, I need to make sure you're in bed."

"I love going to bed," I mumbled like a delirious moron, thinking about how I loved going to bed and snuggling. _Would Edward be a good snuggler? _I wondered, and he laughed at the same time I thought that.

I walked really slowly toward my bedroom, finding all the lights turned off in the apartment but I couldn't find it in me to worry about whether Carmen was home or not. Edward followed me through our tiny, cramped apartment and snickered when I opened the door to my room, which still had the loopy "Duck" paper taped to it.

"I really want to hear about this Duck thing tomorrow," he said and if I wouldn't have been well on my way to having a hangover the next morning, I would've caught onto the fact that he said _tomorrow_ and not Monday when rehearsals started again.

"Our secret," I told him, sleepily kicking off my ankle boots.

Edward nodded and pulled back the comforter on my bed before patting the mattress. He stepped behind me when I came to stand in front of the bed and helped pull my jacket off of me, his hands lingering on my arms through the thin material of my shirt. "C'mon, get into bed," he said but I could see his eyes drifting around my empty bedroom.

I hadn't unpacked anything besides two frames that were resting on my nightstand. One was a double frame, with me and Alec in one on the day of my high school graduation and the other of me and Riley after a Nutcracker performance the year before, and the second individual frame one was of me and my dad fishing. His eyes lingered on the frames while I sat down on my lumpy bed. "My dad," I yawned.

"Your boyfriend?" he asked me, gesturing toward the double frame.

I think I snorted but it probably came out like a hiccup. "My brothers."

He nodded before turning to look at me again, smiling hesitantly as I pulled the covers over my body. I heard him mumble the word "brothers" under his breath.

"Twins. I miss them."

Edward gave me a tender smile. "I'm sure they miss you, too."

"Yeah. They do." I yawned again and gave him a sleepy smile. He looked so perfect in the dark room with the lights from outside reflecting on his features. "You're pretty. I'm glad no dancing girl broke your heart. I don't break hearts. I love hearts."

He covered his face with both of his hands, but I could see him shaking his head behind them. "Oh, I don't doubt it, little Duck." Edward touched my forehead with his fingertips lightly once he pulled his hands away from my face. "You should go to sleep."

"Goodnight," I closed my eyes and sighed, mumbling without even thinking. "Glad you aren't gay."


	16. Chapter 16

I'm off to bed. Here's a bitty. You guys made me laugh my ass off with the reviews last chapter! I'm not kidding. You're the best!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward and Duck.

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><p>The first coherent thought that popped into my head when my body forced my mind to wake up was "What the hell were you thinking?"<p>

My mouth tasted like I'd chewed a small animal to death, my head was throbbing slow and steady, and I pretty much just felt like crap in a shell of skin and strong, sturdy bones. Kicking the covers off my legs, I realized I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before. My mind tried to wrap itself around what happened...

I could remember everything clearly up until the last drink, the sour something that Emmett ordered for me. After that, it all seemed like a really hazy but not totally horrible dream. I knew Edward followed me home, and I could faintly remember him helping me up the stairs when I couldn't walk in a straight line. Oh God, I could only imagine the stupid shit that probably came out of my mouth.

Alec had told me the day after I got wasted that I was one of the goofiest drunks he'd ever seen. Not a compliment. Not a compliment at all. Jessie told me later on that I was a babbling idiot when I was drunk. Apparently, I was a goofy, babbling moron that liked to make out with hot guys when I had too much to drink. Without my brothers and Jessie to referee... my stomach churned at the ideas of what I could've said or done that I couldn't remember.

I groaned and got up, noticing that it was barely nine in the morning but I grabbed underwear, a sports bra, and an old t-shirt to shower. When I walked out of my bedroom, I noticed that Carmen's door was open but jumped into the shower without a second thought. The water was amazing and helped me feel just a bit less shitty than before.

"Never again," I muttered to myself under the sudden scalding spray.

Minutes later, I rung out my hair and walked toward the kitchen with every intention of making some coffee and chugging down some Tylenol. But as soon as I stepped into the small area that connected the kitchen to the living room, I knew the apartment wasn't empty.

Reddish, bronze hair the color of a penny was peeking out over the armrest of the faded beige couch. What in the world...

Edward was passed out of my couch, the side of his handsome face was pressed against the corner of the couch, the full lips that I'd admired a few times were open and I thought I could see his tongue peeking out just a bit. One arm was thrown over his head and the other was bent so that his hand rested on top of his heart. He was still in his clothes from the night before with the exception of the green hoodie he'd worn, which was bunched under his chin.

I can't explain the feeling in my chest seeing him passed out in my new home, fully clothed, and drooling. Backing out of the living room, I turned on the coffee maker and fished out the bottle of Tylenol I'd stashed along with Advil, next to the fridge.

"Morning," a husky, thick voice whispered from behind.

I froze and swiveled on my heel, turning to look at the man with crazy mess of hair looking at me with a sleepy smile and bloodshot eyes. "Good morning."

He rubbed a hand over his face before yawning, long and quiet like a cat. "Why are you up so early on a Saturday?"

"I like to start my day early," I snickered, pouring my coffee into a cup. "You want some?"

Edward nodded, grumbling. I couldn't help but smile to myself, preparing my cup and then asking him how he liked his. I'd barely sat on the couch next to him when I turned my head just the slightest to see him staring at my legs. Blatantly staring at my legs. His eyes burned a path up to my face and he didn't blink or blush, but he smiled this sly grin that should've set alarms going off in my head. "What made you think I was gay?"


	17. Chapter 17

Hi guys! Blame ffn for the missing update yesterday. You guys are absolutely wonderful!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own a drunk Duck.

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><p>"Baaaaaaah..." I gurgled my coffee. There was no way my pupils weren't the size of the moon. My heart didn't speed up— thank you, baby Jesus— because I was already kind of expecting that I said something stupid... but <em>that?<em> Gah. I gave him the cheesiest smile I could muster, quickly slurping down a sip of the too-hot drink. "Well, you see..."

Edward raised an eyebrow at me, bringing the mug to his lips.

He really wasn't going to let it go or say that he was joking. Damn. It. "A lot of ballet dancers are gay," I pretty much whispered, looking up at him from under my eyelashes.

_So embarrassing._

"Hmm," he hummed. Those green eyes peered at me before making a route down to my bare thighs. The shirt I was wearing didn't cover anything, it'd be a miracle if my underwear weren't showing. But I frankly didn't care. I'd performed in less. That intense gaze stayed on my legs, grazing my thighs to my calves and over again.

I felt really warm all of a sudden.

When he lifted his eyes to mine, I couldn't help but shiver. "I'm definitely not gay."

"Good," I squeaked like a frog. Why was I digging myself into a deeper hole?

He leaned toward me, keeping just enough distance so that I couldn't smell his breath. "Do you think it's good that I'm not gay because you think I'm pretty?"

Oh, mother flucker. Mother. Flucker.

My face went red, I could feel the heat explode across my cheeks and ears. "Kill me now," I muttered, and he burst into a laugh that reminded me of Christmas. It was pure, sweet, and deep, like Christmas morning when you're a kid.

"You're funny," he said a moment later, sipping his coffee. Even though his eyes were tinged pink and there was a tiny bit of drool on the corner of his mouth, his smile was wide and broad. Beautiful. Why was he so beautiful even after having slept on my crappy couch overnight?

"It's hereditary," I smiled back. Tucking my legs up to my chest, I looked around to see that none of Carmen's things were around.

As if he could sense that I was wondering about my roommate, who I could barely remember him speaking to, he leaned back against the couch. "I hope you don't mind that I stayed over, but I didn't want to leave you here alone with your deadbolt unlocked." The corner of his mouth quirked up. "This isn't exactly the best neighborhood."

"It's not?" I asked because _really?_ I didn't get a creepy vibe from the neighborhood. Jessie freaked out when she found out that I was going to be living in Brooklyn and not Manhattan, where the studio was. Then again, Jessie thought that Houston was going to have people in cowboy hats and horses.

He shrugged. "It's just you and your roommate, right?" I nodded. "It's not the worst but you should ask your super if you can get another deadbolt on that door."

I held back my snicker because that was something I could imagine my dad or brothers telling me the same. It was cute that he was worried about my lock since we were... barely friends. "Do you live in Manhattan?"

"Yeah, I live in Murray Hill," he said like I knew what he hell Murray Hill was. "It's really close to VBT," Edward explained.

"So what you're trying to do is tell me that you're lucky enough to not have to ride the subway?" I shuddered thinking about the guy I'd caught touching himself on Thursday afternoon.

Edward laughed, rubbing his head and messy hair before telling me a story about his first subway ride. One story led to several funny ones about things he'd seen in the fifteen years he'd lived in New York and yeah... fifteen years compared to a week... there was no comparison. I was actually kind of scared to think of what I'd live through at some point or another, but the fact that he was laughing and smiling told me I could live through it.

I groaned. "You're making me want to go buy pepper spray."

"You should. I'll let you practice using it on my brother," he smirked, his eyes catching something behind me. Edward paused for a minute before tilting his head up. "I don't know if you remember or not, you know, since you drank half the liquor at the bar—"

"Shut it," I snorted, enjoying his teasing way too much. I'd grown up being the target of jokes, it was the way my family showed their affections more often than not but this was Edward. My maybe-but-not-for-sure friend.

He grinned and put up his hands in surrender. "You promised to tell me about Duck."

"Ahh, yes. The Duck. My last name is Swan," I reminded him because I doubted he remembered, but all he did was shrug like it was something he didn't forget. "My brothers were jerks when I was younger who liked to give me hell, you know, typical brother stuff. They tried convincing me I was adopted forever. They'd tell me,_ Bella! You aren't bella!" _I mocked them in a terrible squeak that made them sound more like Alvin from the Chipmunks than real boys. "And after they saw me in Swan Lake when I was maybe ten, they — of course — started calling me an ugly duckling. After the years they got lazy and called me duckling, and then some form or another of Duck. Riley, one of my brothers, calls me Duckie, and Alec, my other brother, calls me whatever pops out of his mouth. My dad just calls me Duck, and now, my roommate just started." He was smiling at me. "Our secret."

Edward nodded and leaned forward again, like he had before, those brilliant green eyes flickering in amusement. "Emmett called me Nutcracker for years. Our secret."

I don't know what overcame me. It might have been the familiarity I got from our teasing but I smiled at him like we were old friends. "Deal, pretty."


	18. Chapter 18

Hello my dearies! Sorry it's taken me longer than normal to post another chapter. Thank you all for your wonderful words and reviews. I love them! Anddddd we continue to chug along.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward.

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><p>The next week went by in a blur of rehearsals. One of my ankles was aching after a particularly grueling day of having to repeat the same sequence over and over again with painful precision. It was a recurring issue for me that happened to pop up at the most unexpected times.<p>

Alec used to tell me it was just like herpes.

Andddddd that was the beginning and the end of that conversation.

The only good part of being at VBT for so many hours was that I got to spend time with Alice. I learned that she was twenty-eight and had been dating her boyfriend, Jasper, for four years. They shared an apartment together in "the poor part of Manhattan" and he was some sort of something in banking. Honestly, I really don't think Alice even knew what he did but it was one of the things I liked the most about her. She was sweet, laid-back, and down to earth.

She'd been surprised to hear that Edward had spent the night at my apartment — I had to emphasize that he slept on the couch when she gave me a crazy look. He'd left after he finished his coffee, claiming that he had plans to hang out with a friend at noon. I'd spent the rest of the weekend hanging around the apartment, nursing my hangover, and eventually went to register for membership at the local YWCA to have access to their swimming pool.

I'd barely seen Edward since then with the exception of company class, where he usually took a spot at the last minute behind me while we did barre work, and passing him in the hallway or walking by one of the studios he was rehearsing in.

When he'd walked past me once, he'd leaned in and in that soft, milky voice that I liked, he said, "Hey Duck."

It was wrong and I knew it, but I didn't care. Duck was a family nickname that reminded me of love and happiness but when he said it... it was anything but that. I blamed his voice. That voice that made me think of dirty things and chocolate.

On Friday, after we did our company rehearsal in front of everyone like the week before, I was feeling significantly drained. Carlisle was railing everyone in the company over each and everything thing he caught. He had called me out in front of everyone during one of the acts I was in. He wasn't rude about it but... it was still embarrassing.

"You're sickling!" he called out, not unkindly, bringing my attention to the foot and ankle that weren't in proper position.

"Open up your chest more," he said minutes later.

"More," he repeated.

Alice gave me a little smile when I went to go stand by her after I'd finished. "I hate it when that happens," she whispered.

I could only give her a little shrug and a tiny smile in return. It was kind of an unspoken rule that you didn't talk about injuries. Most ballet dancers lived in constant pain, so you just kind of sucked it up and didn't let it bother you. I'd skipped breakfast that morning because I'd overslept and my hands were shaking. The section I was in was done for the day but we weren't allowed to leave out of courtesy until the next cast did their part.

"I'm going to go eat my sandwich," I told Alice, grabbing my ziplock bag from my backpack. She nodded at me before I slipped out of the room, shouldering my way through the crowd of dancers that were going through their movements by the door.

No one was in the hall except for two people who were down by the entrance, so I took a seat on the floor and untied my shoes. I'd barely unzipped the baggie when the door to the studio opened and a long, lean figure came out, closing the door quietly behind him. That strange hair color made me smile when he came to sit down next to me, extending his legs out in front of him.

"Hey," Edward said, tossing a small bag onto my lap.

"Hi," I responded, picking up the bag of room temperature sliced green apples. "For me?"

"No, I just want you to hold it in your lap," he laughed.

I couldn't help but smile, setting the baggie onto my thighs before tearing my peanut butter and jelly sandwich in half. I offered him the part that was still in the ziplock. "PB&J?"

"What kind of jelly?" he asked, already taking the sandwich from my hands.

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "The best kind."

He smirked at me in return, those big, green eyes looking devilish under long eyelashes. We ate silently, chewing our halves slowly before I opened the bag of apple slices and gestured for him to take some. When we were done eating, I caught him looking at my bare legs. I'd put some small, stretchy shorts over my leotard so my pale legs were harsh under the yellow light of the hallway.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked him after a minute.

Edward let his gaze linger on my thighs for a minute longer before looking at me. He really didn't give a shit about getting caught ogling body parts and it made me wonder how I felt about it. It was probably second nature to him and I'm sure most women would blossom under his intense scrutiny. "You don't have the typical body for ballet," he said cryptically.

I felt my stomach harden, the words I'd heard a million times before echoed through my brain for far too long. It used to bother me a lot when people would tell me that, and then I just stopped caring. But it was something about hearing it from Edward's lips that made my stomach tighten in a knot like it used to.

He must have sensed that his words had effected me because his hand came to trace a line of vertical muscle on my right thigh. "It's not a bad thing, Bella. You don't look like a fragile, little thing. All skin and bones, and condensed muscles," he said softly. He stopped his trail at my knee, when his finger brushed over a small scar right on the corner. "You had surgery?"

"I tore my meniscus when I was sixteen," I explained. That cartilage tear had not been fun in any way shape or form. I had to sleep on the couch for over a month so that I wouldn't have to walk up the stairs but the worst part was that Riley chose my clothes for me the entire time.

The pad of his finger brushed over the raised skin once more before the door opened right then, and James peeked his head out. "C'mon man, you're up."

Edward patted my leg with his warm palm before getting up. "Come with us tonight," he said, inviting me to what I could only assume was their weekly Friday get-together. When I hesitated, the good-looking bastard winked at me. "I'll make sure you get home."

Damn him.


	19. Chapter 19

I feel like I should hide. I'm sorry this has taken so long, but as some of you know, my Christopher is finally home! He monopolizes 99% of my time when I see him for the first time after awhile. So... blame him :) Anyway, forgive me. I love you guys to pieces. Here's an update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward and Duck.

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><p>I may or may not have taken slightly longer than normal to get ready for the bar outing that night. Even Carmen raised an eyebrow before grilling me on where I was going, who I was going with, and when I'd be back.<p>

I swear, I was going to have to call Riley and find out if he was either paying her to stay on top of me or he'd threatened her in some way. I wouldn't hold it past him.

"Don't let any guys fondle you on the subway," she called out when I was walking out of the apartment.

My new pepper spray lay nestled within a wad of tissues in my coat pocket while I rode the train over to the bar. Wearing a skirt that would make my Alec scream in protest, was probably not my best idea. The attractive, as well as not-so-attractive men on the same car as mine, admiring me and even though I wasn't interested, it was still a nice ego boost. Even if Edward and Emmett weren't interested in dating dancers didn't mean every other man on the planet was repelled by us.

I'd barely walked through the doors of New Moon, the pub, when I spotted Emmett's head at the same table we'd been in the week before. "Hi Emmett," I said loudly while walking toward the table.

"Hey Bell—" Emmett called out before freezing, and then dropping his head to the table to bang his forehead against the edge. He stopped after a couple of head-butts, looking up at me under long, dark eyelashes. His expression was pained like someone had stabbed him in the gut. "Why are you so hot?"

"What?" I asked, laughing.

He gestured toward me with his index finger, drawing a small, straight vertical line. "You. You're so hot and I can't date dancers, Bella. I'm a man of my word and you," he grumbled, and then patted the stool closest to his. "Come sit next to me so that I can look at you without having to look at_ all that_."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him but secretly, I was really pleased. I think I smiled like a moron a little while I walked over to sit right next to him. "Where's everyone else at?"

Emmett shrugged and smiled at me with his big, green eyes all wide and flirtatious. "I don't know. Edward's running late and the other three are probably getting a quickie before heading over."

"James has a girlfriend?" I spat out before thinking.

When he started laughing his ass off, I knew I'd probably asked something wrong. "James?" he huffed. "I mean, Peter acts like a girl but he's not," he started laughing again from deep within his chest.

I'm sure my face went red when I made a face. "I didn't even know he was gay," I muttered.

He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his broad chest. "I didn't know he was gay until he grabbed my ass one night when he was hammered and told me I'd be a good pitcher," he guffawed. "Then, he told me that he'd gladly catch anything I threw at him."

It was nothing short of a miracle that I wasn't drinking anything because it would've ended up being snorted all over the table. There were times when I wondered what got into me. I wasn't shy, but I didn't like talking in front of audiences. And I also usually kept my inappropriate comments to my brothers so when I laughed out a, "I don't know. You look like you could be a modern Yogi Berra," when referring to his catching skills in the sack, I laughed even harder.

Luckily, Emmett threw his head back when he laughed, even though I'd just said he'd be a good gay guy. "You're killing me! You know baseball?"

"I know baseball," I said, thanking years of having to put up with Alec's ungodly love of the sport.

"Edward!" he called out to who I could only assume was his brother behind me. "I think I'm in love! Bella's hot and she knows baseball!"

Two warm hands landed on my shoulders, making me tense up in a delicious way. "Get in line, asshole."

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><p>Two things:<p>

One- I've had a few people ask what Bella looks like. In my head, I would say google Misty Copeland (with smaller boobs haha) or... Lauren Keen. I think that's her name. They're just more muscular and slightly curvier than the average ballerina. They tend to be very... very... small.

Second- Because I'm so-fucking-excited I'd like to share with you guys that my book, Lingus (which used to be I Love Mr. North on here) was edited and just a tiny bit rewritten and is finally an e-book available on Kindle! YAYAYAYAY! I'm beyond ecstatic. If you want to check it out or know someone who might want to read it, you can go here: http:/www(dot)amazon(dot)com/Lingus-ebook/dp/B007C8IFXW/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1330048939&sr=8-12


	20. Chapter 20

Helloooo! Here's another update. It started to get too long so I'll finish it up *crosses fingers* tomorrow. Thank you all for your wonderful support. I've been sucking at responding to reviews but I promise I'll get to them asap. I appreciate and love them very much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but Balletward is mine.

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><p>"This guy named Eric in our company keeps babbling about how hot you are," Edward clarified, running his hands in short lines up and down my shoulder blades.<p>

It took all of my self-control not to let my shoulders and body deflate like a balloon pierced with a needle. For a split second, one single moment in time, I thought that maybe, just maybe, Edward could think I was attractive. Somehow I managed to shoot Emmett a tight smile like I hadn't just been kicked in the gut. "Which one is Eric?" I asked, trying to shield the disappointment in my voice.

Edward squeezed my shoulders lightly, the tips of his fingers brushing over the skin of my collarbones. "No one special."

Emmett snorted and tipped his bottle of beer toward me. "A pussy if he can't tell you to your face that you're smokin'."

"Oh gosh," I laughed, unintentionally leaning backward against the warm body behind me. "Maybe he's shy."

"Shy. Pussy. Same thing," the bigger man chuckled. "I'm going to get another drink while you think about quitting ballet to be with a real man," he winked at me, getting up. When he walked by, he ruffled the hair in my ponytail and leaned in to say something to his brother that I couldn't hear.

A cold nose grazed the shell of my ear a moment later, making me tense up. "Ignore him."

I nodded in response, not trusting myself to talk coherently while his breath washed over my neck. His hand brushed across the span of my back before he pulled the stool on my other side and dragged it to set it literally right next to mine. He slipped in gracefully and swiveled around to face me. His jean covered knees pressed against the bare skin of my thighs. I crossed my legs when I caught him looking at them, he looked up when I did with heavy-lidded eyes. It made me nervous for some reason and I laughed, blushing at the same time. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked, arching a thick, dark eyebrow.

"Stop looking at me like that."

Edward licked his lips, and I thought I was going to melt. "Like what?"

I rolled my eyes, my face burning like a lit torch. "I don't know, like you want to eat me or something, when you don't. It's weird."

The dark expression on his face blurred into one of confusion. His brows were knitted. "What?"

My face got even hotter and I thought that maybe I'd gotten his looks confused. I knew that most men found half of women halfway attractive so I wasn't going to delude myself — again — into thinking that he liked me. That much he had made clear last week and again just a moment before. There were plenty of times I'd been out with Alec and Riley and caught them ogling just about every woman who walked by. It was normal human behavior. I'd thought that even though Edward didn't like me as more than a friend, or even someone to kind of flirt with, would think I was at least a little pretty.

Then, the most discouraging thought popped into my head. He thought I was a butterface or a brown bag special.

Alec's taunting words in the past mocked me.

_"Damn! She's a butterface!"_

_I didn't know any better back then, so I asked him what he meant._

_He rolled his eyes at me and pointed at the girl he'd been referring to. "Everything is good but-her-face. Get it? Butterface?"_

_I snickered and figured that he'd gotten hit in the head with a fly ball one too many times._

Alice's sweet, low voice pulled me from my distracting thoughts. "Bella! Butt-munch." she said, sliding into the seats next to Edward with Jasper trailing behind.

The conversation lay forgotten and I found myself slurping down a Sprite and water, while we all talked and laughed. Now that I was sober, I could appreciate just how funny the four of them were. Emmett was loud and reminded me so much of Alec, I couldn't help but gravitate toward conversations with him. It wasn't like I was intentionally trying to avoid talking to Edward more than I needed to because I was a little embarrassed but it just kind of happened. Emmett was loud and obnoxious, quizzing me about baseball and where I lived before moving on and off the entire night. A few hours later, when Jasper and Alice got up and said they were heading out, I got up too. It was after midnight and I wanted to swim the next day.

"You're leaving?" Edward asked when I started tugging on my jacket.

I nodded at him, pulling my hair out of the collar. "Yeah, it's getting late."

He got up, zipping up his hoodie before tossing back the rest of his drink. I noticed that he didn't drink beer and could only guess that it was because of the calories. "I'll ride back with you," he said.

Shaking my head, I waved him off, watching Alice and Jasper walk out of the pub. "Don't worry about it. I didn't drink anything, I can make it."

Edward scowled and yelled something at Emmett who was busy talking to some random guy. "Bella, the subway's not safe this late."

"I'll take a cab then," I smiled. It was sweet that he was worried about my getting home but a small part of me still wanted to avoid digging myself into more an embarrassing situation. The conversation that had been interrupted didn't need to be continued. Ever. A sober car ride back wasn't on my list of things to do.

He nodded but followed me out after I gave Emmett a one-armed hug. We walked silently to the end of the block where I figured I could catch a ride easier. "Bella," his warm, deep voice called out.

"Yeah?"I asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye until we stopped at the corner of the block.

His long, lean body uncoiled itself around me, giving me a chance to appreciate just how broad his shoulders and chest were. He dipped his head low, making me acknowledge his piercing green gaze. "Why did you say that earlier?"


	21. Chapter 21

I thought this was a lot shorter than it is but I'm about to fall asleep. Thank you all for your wonderful, sweet words. I love them!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own Balletward.

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><p>My throat made a weird humming noise from deep within its glands. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid but how could I? I wasn't going to lie to him so instead, I stood there with big eyes and a slack mouth, hoping I had a cocoon I could crawl into and hide.<p>

Those green eyes stayed locked on my unimpressive brown ones. If eyes could smolder, his would be. I'd be a puddle of goo on the floor if it were possible. "Bella? You think I don't want to eat you up?"

Either way I answered, I'd sound like an idiot. If I said that I thought he didn't want to, then I'd sound like I was clingy and lacked self-esteem, and it wasn't that I lacked confidence but it was more along the lines that I knew he didn't date dancers and I'd hate to assume more. On the other hand, if I said that it did look like he wanted to eat me up, then I'd sound like a cocky bitch.

I blubbered, ducking my head and mumbling something along the lines of "Well, no..." Even as the words came out of my mouth, I felt stupid. I felt young and immature. Did I need him to assure me that he thought I was pretty? No. Yes. Maybe. Emmett had no problem telling me what he thought but that was him.

Cool fingertips made me lift my chin to look at him. His face was even closer than it'd been before. "Do you think—," his lips moved just a couple inches away from mine. "That I don't find you attractive?" he asked, and I nodded. His head shake was so curt that I almost missed it but I didn't miss his face inching closer to mine. "Bella."

"Yes?" I shuddered. What other reaction could I have when the most handsome face I'd ever seen was _right there?_ His skin was so smooth and his jaw was just so angular, I wanted to cry.

Edward wasn't the kind of man who asked what others wanted so I shouldn't have been surprised when his mouth — those full, warm lips that I'd looked at numerous times when we passed by each other — pressed against my own. He was rough, sucking my top lip between his, and quickly tracing the seam, trying to find an entrance. My dad would probably be screaming from the rooftop of our Seattle home if he knew how quickly I opened my mouth to let him in. Even though his mouth moved against mine like he was punishing us, his lips were soft and his tongue was prepared to wage a battle with my own.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me to him, pressing our chests together tightly. The noise he made in his chest was deep and more of a grunt than a moan when his free hand slunk its way down to grip the back of my naked thigh. I probably should have wondered or cared that this man had no interest in dating dancers but here was with me, taking my bottom lip and gently biting down on it.

"God damn it," he groaned, running his hand up and down my leg. I was so fucking happy that I'd shaved before going out. His hand was cold but I couldn't have cared any less because all I could focus on was that his lips were soft and that his mouth tasted like a hint of tequila. He was sin in the flesh.

I pulled away from him just a little but he took that as an incentive to kiss a path from the corner of my mouth down my chin and throat. "Edward," I tried to say but it came out like more of a moan.

He groaned against my neck, sucking the sensitive skin, making me wonder how the hell I didn't dissolve right then. His body was warm and wrapped around mine so tightly I couldn't even arch at the delicious, hot sensation that immediately made me feel alive. He was hard muscles over the entire expanse of his body and I could feel them tensing around me.

Edward flicked my earlobe with the tip of his tongue. "Bella—," he started to say but the loud honk of a car horn broke through his words, shattering our moment.

I think I realized that there was always the small chance that he'd regret what had just happened so I rose up on the tips of my toes to plant a lingering, close-mouthed kiss on his lips. My face felt warm and his, as I took a step away from his slackening embrace, was flushed. The arm he had around my lower back loosened enough to allow his hand to slide and rest on my hip, while the hand that had been holding my thigh, brushed up once more before dropping to his side.

He smiled at me first, this crooked, lazy smile that quirked up the side of his face higher than normal. I would've figured he was drunk by the glazed look in his eye if I wouldn't have known that he hadn't drunk very much. "That was so much better than I thought it would be," he purred out. The thumb he had on my waist snuck up the hem of my shirt, rubbing the pad in short lines up and down. "You're beautiful, Bella. I can't believe you'd think I believe otherwise."

I wanted to open my mouth and correct him, tell him that I never used the word beautiful but I couldn't. I looked down instead, feeling dumb but in all honesty, how was I supposed to know what he was thinking? Men were horn dogs, I couldn't even assume that this meant something to him. Maybe he did this on a regular basis...

Edward dipped his mouth to mine again, kissing me so sweetly that any other kiss I'd gotten in the past would seem biter by comparison. The words that came out of his mouth next, whispered millimeters from my lips made me ignore the sirens going off in my head. I didn't care. I wanted to be reckless for once in my life. "You're so beautiful."


	22. Chapter 22

My dearies, here's a short thing but I'll have something else out tomorrow! thank you all for your wonderful words. i love, love, love them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own Balletward.

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><p>It should be said that the morning after the pub outing I was smiling like a deranged fool.<p>

Carmen took one look at me and asked nonchalantly, "Did you get some last night?"

Even if I would've gotten some — which I didn't — I probably wouldn't tell Carmen. I had a feeling she'd go to Riley with it minutes later. That big bastard would probably fly over New York and kill the man who'd gotten in my pants, or if something would've happened last night, my skirt. He and Alec refused to believe that I had reproductive organs.

It wasn't like I'd slept around. In high school, all the guys knew who my brothers were so they stayed away from me like I was the Virgin Mary. I didn't go to college besides a couple of classes here and there but my experiences at summer programs across the county let me meet my one and only boyfriend in Houston. We dated for three months but as soon as I went back to Seattle, we split up. We were both too focused on our careers to want the distraction that a long distance relationship brought. I look back now and think that I liked him, a lot, but maybe not enough to want to make it work.

Then I thought about Edward, and his practically ethereal face, and I was torn between getting excited and thinking that what went on was just a one-time thing.

That was one thing I could grateful to my brothers' for. I knew how men worked... for the most part. I liked him but I couldn't assume that he wanted the same thing I would've.

Regardless, I tried my best to push the green eyes and warm hands out of my mind as much as I could. It wasn't often enough. I spent Saturday with Carmen at the apartment when I wasn't at the YWCA and Sunday we went to some flea market in the sketchy part of Manhattan. We had hot dogs that I packed in without caring the smallest bit about calories and fat intake.

When Monday rolled around, I put on my favorite thick, black leggings, sports bra, and tank top under my baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt expecting the worst even though I knew Edward wouldn't be a jerk and ignore me or anything. So, when I walked into the studio and found him already in there, stretching alongside James I was a little taken back. Edward never got there on time. He always made it in right before class started. He smiled at me warmly when I dumped bag right next to him.

"Hi," he said, eyeing me while I peeled off sweats.

James was looking at Edward like he'd grown another head. "Hey Bella."

"Hi," I replied to them, tossing my clothes into my backpack before sitting down next to Edward.

I'd barely started to stretch, hearing them talk quietly about some new choreography Edward was working on, when I felt his warm palm squeeze my calf. "I made a part specially for you."

"Hmm?" I asked, confused. James had his lips tucked into his teeth like he was fighting the urge to smile.

"I choreographed something with you in mind for my showcase," he said as his hand climbed higher on my leg.

I realized how little I knew about Edward and his choreography. I'd overheard Alice and James talking about it a few times but it was only in passing. I was nosey but I didn't focus too much on other people's business.

Somehow my mind finally caught onto the fact that he had choreographed something for me. Me. I couldn't help but smile, blushing just a little. "Yeah?"

He leaned into me, brushing his nose right next to my ear. "You were my muse this weekend."

It was a miracle I didn't break into seizures.


	23. Chapter 23

Hello, hello, hello. Sorry for the missed update but I had a killer headache and couldn't stand to look at my computer. For some reason this chapter took me forever to write. Anyway, thank you all for you sweet words. I LOVE THEM!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but the rest of this is mine. Don't steal it.

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><p>I was on cloud nine the rest of the working week.<p>

Rehearsals were getting more grueling because they're longer and we're past the learning stage. Now it's more about perfecting our little mistakes because ballet isn't ballet if every line isn't accountable. My ankle pain has reached epic proportions and I'm stuck icing it on and off for hours after I get home. Alice has started whispering to me about her back hurting so it doesn't make me feel so crappy.

It's not until the end of the week when she finally found out about the supposed part that Edward choreographed for me. Her eyes were wide when she grabbed my arm and hauled me to our side of the room. I know she'd been eyeing Edward suspiciously since Monday, when he started getting to class earlier and even though he hadn't been too handsy or overly-affectionate with me… something was different.

I don't have the balls to figure it out, though.

"Edward did a part for you?" she whisper-hissed at me as soon as we were out of the main rehearsal room.

I couldn't help but nod with a smile on my face. There's a chance that he sucks at working on choreography, I've meet plenty of dancers who can't create new pieces, but somehow I just have this feeling that tells me otherwise. Edward is probably an amazing choreographer and if he isn't, then oh well.

Alice raised a black eyebrow at me. "Are you two—?" She put up her hands and tapped the two index fingertips together.

"No," I told her, shaking my head but smiling even bigger.

"No?" she repeated my words. Confusion marked her pretty, delicately boned face. "But he made you a part?"

"Why are you making it seem like you can't believe it?"

Alice, who I've learned has no problems telling me what she's thinking now that she trusts me, dips her head closer to mine like she wants to keep this conversation between the two of us. I don't mind at all. "Because I can't remember the last time he choreographed something for someone in mind. It's weird, Bella."

It's that moment that one of the assistant directors called the corps up to go through one of the acts at the beginning of the piece. I know for a fact that I groaned but only because I really wanted to hear why she seemed so surprised. We didn't get to finish our conversation unfortunately.

It's after my cast's rehearsal in front of Carlisle, which wasn't as verbally brutal as it had been the week before, that I slipped out of the studio to eat my sandwich and see my very pleasant and very handsome visitor again. He's wearing gray shorts that hit him right above the knee and look like they were painted on. I've always known that I was muscular but Edward… mother of God. Even when he isn't trying to flex, the cords of muscles are taut and perfectly outlined.

"Hey," he said, snapping me out of my ogling.

When I looked up, I caught him smiling very smugly. Like he knew what I was doing. "Hey," I snickered, eyeing the Nutcracker t-shirt he had on that happened to be really tight across his shoulders and chest. "Nutcracker."

Those eyes narrowed in my direction before he slides down the wall, sitting close enough to me so that his thigh aligned with mine. "Our secret."

The bag of strawberries he had in his hand landed on my lap at the same time I handed him his half of the PB&J. We ate silently, eyeing each other more often than what I figured would be socially acceptable. I don't know what it is about him that makes me happy to just sit there quietly. Too soon, James popped his head out of the studio door to tell Edward that he needed to go back in soon.

He rolled onto his knees a second later and before I registered what he was doing, he dipped his face close to me and pressed his lips against mine so quickly it felt like a dream. When he pulled his face away, he was smiling at me. "I've wanted to do that all week."

"Do it anytime you want," I told him with what I could only imagine was a dazed smile. My brain told me not to think much of his affection.

"Tonight," he said, making it sound like a promise I hoped he would keep.

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><p>Another dancer that was brought to my attention for a "Bella body" is Drew Jacoby. Jeez Louise. That's all I'm saying.<p>

Twitter me: marianazapata_

Blog me: .com


	24. Chapter 24

This would be longer but I have to be up in... 5 hours for an orthodontist appointment. Pray for me. Thank you all for sweet words, my reviewers for this story make my little heart go beat-beat-beat in happiness. You guys are the sweetest and the best. No beta ever.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but Balletward and Bellarina (I loved that you guys came up with this) are mineeee. Steal and I'll bite.

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><p>When I made it to the pub for the third straight Friday in a row, I was incredibly proud of myself for not bursting a button. I'd squeezed my ass and thighs into the tightest skinny jeans I owned. Sure, I had plenty of other skinny jeans to choose from but none of then gave my ass that extra <em>oomph<em>. I wanted the oomph, dang nabit. So when I made it in and found Edward sitting at the same table that we always sat at, without Emmett around, I was incredibly pleased.

He was facing the direction of the door to begin with, so as soon as I made it around the tables, those electric green eyes were already making their way up and down my body. I thought to myself for a split second that I should consider the looks he was giving me in a negative way. I mean, I'd fought my entire life to be treated seriously. To be treated as a person against pretty much everyone. Here was this man that was looking at me like he wanted to completely _disrespect_ me and I was practically panting.

"Hi," he murmured in that dark, deep tone that made my insides slobber.

I smiled at him before quickly leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Hey."

"That's not all you're giving me," he said, drooping his eyes down to the collarbones I had out for the world to see. His hands, those large and long boned body pieces, gently grasped the sides of my face before he dipped his mouth to mine and kissed me. It was long and lingering, warm and sweet, and it made my heart flutter.

The heat on my cheeks when he pulled away were the warning signals that I was blushing furiously, and I couldn't help but smile again like my life depended on it. "Well," I sighed in excitement.

Edward gave me a cheeky grin before pointing at the stool he had to his right, pulled up alongside his. "Sit with me," he told me.

I walked over and slid onto the rickety wooden seat, peeling off my jacket while I admired the dark blue v-neck that clung to his pecs. "Where's everyone?" I asked because I was already fifteen minutes later than usual.

"They're running late," he murmured. "I told them to get here an hour later."

"Oh yeah?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow at the devilish smile on his face.

He nodded. "It's just you and me for awhile," he answered. "I wanted to have some time to have you all to myself."

I think I went brain dead for a split millisecond.

The "sweet" that squealed out of my lips was embarrassing but I couldn't help it.

When Edward leaned into me, smiling at me with the full force of his charm and amazingly perfect looks, I knew I was gone. "Tell me everything I can know about you, Bella."

My face went from warm to scalding hot in a strange mix of excitement and nervousness. "I don't think you want to know everything," I laughed. "I'm kinda boring."

"I highly doubt that, Bella Swan."

I made a face at him and looked down, brushing my hands back and forth across the denim of my jeans. "You'll be in tears, trust me."

Edward didn't say anything in response but when I felt his lower lip brush my earlobe at the same time that his chest pressed against my shoulder blade, I had to hold back a shudder of pleasure. "Tell me everything."


	25. Chapter 25

I'm raising the roof right now because I got another update done within 24 hours. On another note, thank you all for being the freaking best. I 3 you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but the rest of this is mine.

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><p>Those forty-five minutes I got to spend alone with Edward were more fun that I could've ever expected.<p>

His dark, territorial eyes seemed to eat up every word that came out of my mouth, absorbing the goofy looking facial expressions I'm sure I made when I found myself talking about my dad and brothers. They were really the only interesting aspect of my life. The stuff that we'd done together and the dynamic we had as a family was what gave me life. What made me, _me_. There was no point in trying to tell him about myself without ranting about them for half the time but he inhaled everything with a smile and more questions.

It was probably a little rude of me to feel disappointed when James got there, ending my bonding time with the green-eyed man sitting next to me. The same green-eyed man who had his arm around the back of my stool while he huddled and curved his back around me when we talked.

James light colored eyes grazed over us quickly before a knowing smile spread over his face. I'm not sure what there was to know, because frankly, I didn't even know what was going on but I wasn't going to overanalyze anything. I wanted to enjoy the moment.

So, when forty-five minutes with Edward turned into three hours with James, the Nutcracker, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper, I put on a smile and enjoyed myself. When I saw that it was after midnight, I slipped off the seat and went for my jacket wordlessly. I didn't want to assume that he'd walk me outside or, better yet, to my apartment. Was that really what I wanted? I didn't know.

Maybe.

"Ready to go?" he asked under his breath, already getting off his own stool.

I nodded at him and slowly slipped into my jacket. When I felt his hand at the nape of my neck, pulling my ponytail out from the hood, I felt goosebumps break out over my skin. After saying goodbye to the four other people—and getting a kiss to the cheek from Emmett which earned him a frown from his brother—we slipped out of the pub and walked toward the corner where his hand and my thighs had gotten well acquainted at last week.

We'd barely made it halfway down the block when I felt his path change and before I knew it, his palm was wrapped around the back of my neck and his other arm was pulled tight across my back, both pulling me and pushing me at the same time. He pulled me to him, all clean and freshly scented male, while directing me back against the brick behind us. In a second, his mouth was against mine and he was kissing me like we'd never get a chance to do so again.

His lips pulled at my own, sucking each one before delving his tongue in my mouth. He was too good at this. Too good at this kissing thing because I couldn't think of anything besides his hot mouth and breath on mine. Edward's fingers massaged the muscles in my neck, probably absentmindedly while he held me, which only made me arch into him even more.

At some point, he pulled away from me the slightest inch, so close I could still feel his panting breath on my lips. "Bella," he purred. "God, you're so sweet."

_Was he talking about my personality or… maybe he could taste the remnants of soda on my lips?_

He attacked my mouth one more time, those pouty lips pressing to my own slowly, imprinting their texture on me forever. The heavy hand that was by my head slid down the curve of my spine slowly, the open palm absorbing every muscle and bone languidly until he stopped moving it right at the swell of my ass.

"Can you come to the studio tomorrow?" he asked me in his husky, chocolate-like voice.

"You want to dance?" I sighed out, brushing my lips against the column of his throat.

Edward nodded. "Just for a little bit, I want to show you what I have choreographed."

He could've told me it was all day, and I still would've said yes.


	26. Chapter 26

My sweethearts! *hides* I know it's been a while but I've had a rough time with some of my fanfic recently. I'm trying to get back on track, so here's a new chapter to avoid pitchforks for a bit :) I've started another story called **The Golden Giants Tour**if you want to check that out, it's on my page along with my Pop the Question entry called **What and What If**. Thanks for being great to me, guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

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><p>"I knew you'd look like a dream," Edward murmured from his spot in front of the mirrors.<p>

We'd been in the practice studio for well over two hours. He'd shown me a few pieces that he'd choreographed for himself and for James—there aren't words to describe Edward moving across the floor by himself—before he went over the part that he'd done specifically for me. _Me._ And it was perfect. The ideas he had went hand in hand with what I was best at, what I loved doing the most.

My second dance teacher had drilled it into my head that you genuinely had to feel something for the routine you were performing. She'd told us all that you could tell from a mile away who enjoyed what they were doing and who could connect with it. She was right. As I'd gotten older, it was evident who loved dancing and who didn't. Who appreciated their piece, no matter how big or how small it was, from a hundred feet away.

I think that's what made Edward's choreography so special, because it was all the things that I loved doing. It also helped that he'd been very hands-on with my tutorial while in his fitted t-shirt and shorts. I could've told him that I understood what he wanted me to do but why would I do that?

"I'm just the puppet for your masterpiece," I smiled at him, coming out of the last position I'd been in. Brushing off my knees, he walked toward me while I did the same.

Those murky green eyes focused on my mouth as he stopped in front of me. His eyes searched my face slowly. "God Bella," he whispered a split second before dropping his lips onto mine.

His arm wrapped around my lower back, pulling our hips in together so much closer than any other time, while his free hand rested on my cheek. It was slow, languid kisses of tongue and soft lips that made me curl against him. There was just something about him that made me want to have his mouth attached to mine forever.

After a moment or two, he pulled away just a bit, licking his lips at the same time. "I feel like you've drugged me," he admitted with heavy-lidded eyes. "You've burned your way into me, little bird, and I don't get it."

Edward's words shot an arrow through the length of my insides. Feeling brave, I went onto relevé to plant my lips on the corner of his hot mouth. I knew what he meant, what the battle was like. I didn't want to think about him, so I found myself fighting his image in my brain and the feel of his lips on my skin, constantly. And it'd only been a few weeks.

"Bella Swan," he murmured gently against my ear before placing a kiss directly underneath it. I couldn't even find it in me to care that I was a little sweaty and probably tasted like a salt shaker. The hold he had around my hips tightened, pulling me in flush to his pelvis. "Do you have plans tonight?

I shook my head. "No—"

The opening of the door made us both turn to look in the direction of it, wondering who was coming in while we were still against each other. As a blonde head peeped in, I realized that Edward hadn't loosened his hold a millimeter.

"Huh," a voice I didn't recognize wafted through the room. The girl Alice and James had both pointed out as Rosalie, took a single step into the room, keeping the door open with her foot. Her eyes traced our position lazily, a smirk covering her beautiful face. "This is interesting."

"Get the fuck out," Edward told her.

She simple stood there, not moving an inch. "Is the new girl going to be in your showcase?"

A muscle in his jaw quivered. "I'm not kidding. Get out."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes before shrugging. "Whatever. Don't have sex in here, this is my favorite studio," she barked before backing out of the room.

As soon as she'd left, Edward shook his head and dislodged his arm from around me. "She gets on my fucking nerves," he groaned. "She hates me but then she gets pissed off when I don't ask her to perform in my showcase. James would cut off my balls if I ever asked her."

"Because of Emmett?" I asked, referring to how they'd dated for a short time.

"Because she's a bitch," he corrected me. "Rosalie has her head in a different universe." He sighed and gestured toward the door. "She killed my mood now. Do you mind if we quit for the day?"

"No, it's fine." I thought briefly about what he'd been asking me before the Yellow Demon, as James called her, had come in. The snarl of frustration in her tone made me worry about what she'd say to the rest of the company about Edward and me. Not that it mattered because it's not anyone's business. I didn't even know what was going on. His words about burning did just that to my tissues.

His warm hand landed on my lower back when I straightened up after putting on my shoes. "Eat with me?" he asked softly against my ear.

How could I say no?


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